Past Life Hero, ch 51

Sorry for the wait!

Plus side is these chapters are long!  I'm editing 52 now.  It'll come out in a few hours.

-BC

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The inside of the temple dimly lit up as Max entered. The faint light was comforting at first, but when he glanced back, the illumination almost seemed to form a literal pool. It did not extend out of the entryway for more than about a foot.  Physics seemed to be more of a suggestion than a rule in this place.

Esoteric, arcane decorations ran down the entire length of the hallway that Max could see. If the alcoves in the walls had ever held anything, it was all long gone now.

Carvings ran along the ceiling and faded statues had been carved directly into the stone untold millennia ago. Details long gone, statues of proud heroes stood next to horrifying monsters.

Several sets of double doors made of metal had to be opened as Max traversed down the long hallway.  They opened easily, soundlessly, and closed behind him on their own.

The lighting seemed to come from some of the carvings, but not obviously so. The illumination winked out behind Max at the same rate it came to life before him. The light was weak and syrupy, almost languid.  Max's hackles rose as the feel of the energy and the entire vibe of the ruin seemed to change from one moment to the next.

From where she was riding shotgun in Max's spirit, Lavinia whispered, Even what my senses as a spirit are telling me now is confusing and scary.  This is a strange, foreboding place.  Max agreed, minus the spirit senses part.  But while the ruin was making him nervous, he still didn’t feel any actual feeling of danger from the place.  His fear came more from the immensity of it all.  Max was not easily impressed, not after his previous life.  But he’d never seen anything like this before.  There was an air of gravitas around every square inch of the temple. He didn't think that this spiritual or magical weight he was feeling was just due to the structure's age, either. It all felt important…sacred.  There was something majestic about the ruins, dark as they were and having suffered the ravages of time.

The strange, imposing hallway eventually opened into a large circular room. When Max glanced up, he could barely see the ceiling, then realized that the room was actually half a sphere. He inspected further and found metal grates at intervals around the floor.  The grates allowed glimpses into the bottom of what actually turned out to actually be a spherical room.  Under the floor, gears and levers of differing types of metal had sat unmoving for long enough to develop a coating of dust like snow.

Carvings around the curved walls  in this room were different than the hallways had been. Max was drawn to them and he willed Lavinia to cover his body with glowing armor, giving him a bit more light to see by. The mural told a story, one that Max didn't entirely follow. What he could gather was that it was perhaps a history, or maybe a parable involving space and time, conquering all opposition, and creating worlds. There were other figures in the mural as well–whether gods or demons, Max wasn't sure.

At the opposite side of the room, there was a large, deeply carved symbol of a tower. Merely looking at it made Max's spirit quiver. There were words written in many languages next to it. Interestingly enough, Max did not see Quartet language among them, but he did recognize Chinese, Spanish, English, Arabic, and others. The inscription in English read:

Blessed be the Originators.

Try to

Love them

Hate them

Fear them

Join them

Destroy them

But never underestimate them

Max wasn't sure what the words meant but they chilled him to the bone nonetheless.

In silence, he walked around the room several times, examining the mural and trying to burn as much of it as he could into his mind. He felt like there was more to it that he wasn't seeing, hidden levels and a profound meaning that currently escaped him. Finally, he approached the center of the room.

A stone pedestal with a pale, milky orb resting on top commanded Max’s attention. Around the pedestal there were blocks of at least thirty languages arranged radially.  Max found instructions in Olde English.

Trying to read this form of English made him remember trying to decipher Beowulf back in high school.

He could barely understand it even after reading the text multiple times. What he could make out seemed to relate to the pedestal and the room as whole.  The words seemed to instruct one seeking truth to touch the orb…to see the start of all things.

Any idea about any of this? Max asked Lavinia.

No clue.  Actually maybe a…No, I don’t know.

Max stood for a while, staring at the pedestal, wondering what he should do. In his past life, he might have merely walked away.  Toying with ancient powers that one does not understand was usually not a great way to avoid unforeseen consequences. After coming to the Quartet, he’d decided he was willing to take a few risks in this second life that he would not have in his first.  Out loud he said, "YOLO!" for the second time in ten minutes and touched the orb with a single finger.

Immediately, a small light flashed and an amorphous blob of glowing matter appeared in the air about five feet in front of Max. He took a single step back in surprise before watching it curiously. Not only was it staying in one place, not approaching him, his instincts were not warning him of any danger. Sure enough, about thirty seconds later, there was another flash of light and an older human man was standing in the dimly lit chamber where the blob had been. He looked to be in his sixties, tall and thin, with a mustache and goatee.  Looking very formal, he was dressed in a suit. The man bowed, and Max didn't say anything, just waited.

Max half expected Lavinia to pop out and say something snarky, but everything about the situation seemed to be suppressing the ghost girl's normal spirit.

After the man stood from his bow, he merely studied Max and didn't say anything.  He also didn’t otherwise move.  Max thought briefly about what to do before mentally shrugging and opening his third eye. He only had his mind opened to the truth, peeling back the layers of reality for a couple of seconds, but it was still enough to blow him away.  What he simply…knew…now, astounded him.

He also knew there was no way this figure would not have felt the third eye observation.

Max took the initiative to say, “Why did you appear as a butler?"

"I would think that would be obvious to you by now," said the man. Instead of Quartet language, the butler-looking entity spoke English. "I am an artifact messenger, a recording, or maybe as people of your development and sophistication might think of me, an interactive instruction manual."

"Yes, I got that part already," said Max, "but I highly doubt that you actually look like this." He waved at the man, which he now understood to be something like an incredibly ancient, highly sophisticated AI help program made of primordial magic.

The not-butler sniffed.  "There is a core directive in my purpose that leads me to take forms best suited to interface with a mortal.  I would have a difficult time breaking the barriers around your mind and I have no motivation to do so in the first place. However, getting some impressions of your past experiences from your contracted spirit was much easier." Max could feel a sudden spike of Lavinia's outrage and he tried his best to calm her.  Max felt some irony from the situation. After all, hadn't Lavinia more or less read his mind as part of the deal for her to be contracted with him in the first place?  Of course, this thing had not asked anyone’s permission first.

Max let it slide. After seeing this apparition with his third eye, he perfectly understood what the butler's function was and being angry or suspicious was pointless.  It’d be the same as getting upset directly at a helpful-hints-cartoon for a word-processing program back on earth. This butler-thing truly didn't have a personality of its own and was merely serving a function. Max didn't know exactly how he knew this and he was painfully aware that he was not a very powerful Summoner yet.  It almost felt like he shouldn't have gleaned all this information so easily. Maybe whoever had made this Butler-program had also added an ease of probing to it, something that communicated certain information to anyone who did any type of divination.

Max quickly relayed his theory to Lavinia and she agreed.

"Do you have a name?" asked Max.

"No," said the Butler-AI-thing. "You may just call me... Switchboard."

"Okay, Switchboard. Clever name.”  Max hid his eye roll.  “So why are you here, exactly?”

“I am here to help any Challenger that wishes it, but also to warn them of the dangers of doing so."

Max said, “I see.  How long have you been in here? How long has it been since anybody visited this place.

The not-butler figure cocked his head.  "Curious, I am not sure about this answer myself, but even if I was I would feel no obligation to tell you."

"Charming," muttered Max. "So what is this opportunity you're talking about and what are the dangers involved?"

The man nodded and gestured. On the far side of the room where the carved passages about the Originators were, a portal suddenly appeared, spiraling to life and standing light violet in place, casting stronger illumination on that side of the room.

The help-AI, Switchboard, said, "You may choose to enter this portal if you are a Challenger.  Of course, the odds are that any who come to this place will be a Challenger. However, I will not ask if you are a challenger.  It is your choice to make, your risk."

Max cocked an eyebrow and stayed silent as he pondered the things Switchboard just said.  It almost sounded like the legalese of a contract. The butler continued, "You may always choose to walk away before entering.  I will not stop you.  If you pass through the portal and it is your destiny to do so, you may receive good fortune. But doing so may not be easy, and the strength of your convictions will be tested."

"What does that mean?" said Max.  “Will I be in danger?”

"You will be under no physical danger if you pass through the portal unless you make choices that lead that direction.”

Cryptic, thought Max. "And will I be able to come back out once I go through?" he asked.

"Yes. After entering there will be several minutes where the portal must recharge.  Then you will be free to return."

Max's decision about what to do next might have been harder if he hadn't already Seen that Switchboard was unable to lie. In some ways, it was like speaking to an incredibly advanced computer program. Knowing this fact helped and it didn't take long for him to weigh his pros and cons. ‘Course, if he walked away now, even if he could escape the dungeon he was in, he wasn’t sure he’d be destined for anything but corpse-camping in the Quartet.  Just hunted and hounded until he could achieve his second star mana body.

That didn’t sound like much fun.

The “good fortune,” that Switchboard mentioned sounded to Max like treasure or maybe even an inheritance from a powerful Challenger. His theory so far was that this temple was the tomb of an incredibly powerful warrior from ancient times.

Max figured the portal led to a  test, maybe something to do with willpower or even a series of questions.  But if the return portal was timed and he got questions he couldn't answer or was in danger in any other way, he was fairly confident that he could stall long enough to come back. Also, he reminded himself, at the end of the day, no risk no reward. Besides, Max was fairly sure that this area still counted as part of the dungeon, so if he died, the worst that could happen was being revived in his own body back on Earth.

At least he hoped so.

He wanted to ask about it, but kind of didn’t want to know.  He also didn't want to give away that it was a possibility if it was something that the Switchboard wasn’t aware of.

Max eyed the portal one last time before making his decision. He half expected Lavinia or maybe even Slick to give him their opinions, but both of them kept silent and radiated resignation in his mind. They were leaving this one up to him.

Max said, "I am going to go through the doorway."

Switchboard bowed. "I think that may prove to be a wise decision. Or perhaps a foolish one. Time will tell."

"Yeah, really helpful, ol’ Switch’." said Max.

“You are very welcome.”

Max ignored the magic AI. He walked forward and didn't hesitate as he passed through the portal.

The moment Max stepped through the portal he felt a shift and immediately knew he was far from where he had been before, and not just geographically. It was a fundamental gut-level feeling that he knew with all of his heart to be the truth. Next, he registered the room itself.

The space he was in was like living in a dream.  He'd never seen anything like it before. Whether it was a room or a cavern or a structure at all, he had no idea. It was almost like he existed in a sliver of time between heartbeats.  The air felt charged like the moment before a sigh.

All the elements were present, from every elemental system max was aware of and then some.  Western elements were present as well as eastern elements, including one for wood.   There were at least two dozen.  The elements were arranged in a circle around the platform that Max had appeared on. Each existed within its own  little puddles of energy, but also beside visions or examples of the element itself.

Max focused on one of them, the element of water.  There was a puddle of water within an aura of water, all next to a glass full of water in front of a small waterfall falling out of nowhere complete with a rainbow. Near that was an aura of fire, with a candle next to a small burning campfire in front of a scene of a forest fire.  Above all the other flames hung a tiny sun with its own orbiting solar system.

Past the elements, to one side of the space was a hemisphere of light–on the other side was one of darkness. Floating above in the air were representations of the four seasons, with thousands of images related to each season flashing in a kaleidoscope that evoked memories, sensations, even smells from the entire course of Max's life. When he stared too long at the representation of Autumn, he suddenly felt like he'd stepped into a memory: starting his first day of kindergarten on Earth. Even though this memory was from before he'd remembered his life as Chasa de Milo, it was so clear he felt like he was there again, his mind more simple and full of wonder.  The limited but familiar way he’d seen the world as a little boy felt like putting on a shoe too small for him.

The sensation and the memory was interrupted when he heard amused laughter.

Max tore his eyes away from the seasons in the sky to find the source of the chuckle.  He was shocked to his toes when he saw another person, a woman. There was a flash and suddenly Max was in a lavishly decorated, but somehow cozy sitting room with this same woman standing across from him.

She was ravishing, stunning, one of the most beautiful people he'd ever seen in his life–perhaps the most striking.  The woman wore dark, sultry clothing and had a pair of horns growing out of her head.  A glossy, dark pair of wings spread behind her. In one hand, she held a silver goblet that she sipped from as she examined Max over the rim.

Like he had before with Switchboard, Max opened his third eye to attempt another data shortcut. The moment he did, it felt like he'd been hit by a runaway train directly impacting his spirit. His soul felt like it’d been thrown into the fires of hell. He screamed and pressed both hands to his face as he doubled over, trying to hold the pieces of himself together.